Traffic Ratings Explained
Every rug we make is rated for the kind of use it is built to take. Low, Medium or High. It is the first thing we weigh when a space is specified, and the one decision that cannot be corrected later.
Specification Guidance
It is not a certification. There is no test bench behind it. It is the judgement of a business that has been specifying rugs into Australian homes, hotels, offices and public buildings for forty years, and has seen what survives and what does not.
We put it on every product because it is the one decision that cannot be corrected later. Colour, scale and price can all be revisited. A rug specified below the demands of its space will show it, usually within a year, and usually in the part of the room everyone walks through.
What we weigh
Every space asks something different of a rug. Before we recommend anything we weigh four things, and none of them decides the rating on its own.
Fibre
Fibre is chosen for the way a space is used. Wool is our benchmark. It resists soiling, recovers from compression, and conceals the marks of daily life. Synthetics hold up where moisture and frequent cleaning are part of the routine, which is what makes them right for entries and dining. Silk and viscose have a lustre nothing else matches, and they belong in rooms where that can be appreciated rather than tested.
Construction
How a rug is made governs how the pile is anchored, and it is the factor that most often decides whether a rug suits its setting. A hand knotted rug is the most considered piece on our floor, and it earns its place in rooms that are lived in rather than crossed. Hand tufted covers the greater part of what we make, and takes regular daily use well. Axminster is built for continuous footfall, which is why it goes into lobbies, corridors and public floors.
Density
Density matters more than pile height. A deep, soft pile is the more generous underfoot. A tightly packed pile holds its form under load. That is why a low dense rug often proves the more enduring choice in a demanding space, and why height on its own tells you very little.
Colour and pattern
Colour and pattern shape the mood of a space and also how well it wears. A pale plain field shows every footprint. Tonal movement absorbs the same wear almost invisibly. In a busy environment this decision carries as much weight as the fibre does.
These interact. Reading them together is the part that takes experience, and it is why the rating is a person's call rather than a calculation.
Low Traffic —
Occasional use, with no fixed path across the floor.
Spaces used deliberately rather than constantly, where the floor is looked at more than it is crossed.
Commercial
- private offices
- executive boardrooms
- hotel suites
- private dining rooms
Residential
- main bedrooms
- home studies
- formal living rooms
This is where the finer fibres and deeper piles belong. Silk blends, high lustre wools and sculpted surfaces hold their quality here because the room does not ask them to work hard.
Low: occasional use, with no fixed path across the floor.
Medium Traffic —
Daily use, with movement spread across the space.
Spaces in regular daily use, where a rug has to look considered and take consistent wear at the same time.
Commercial
- restaurant dining
- general office floors
- meeting rooms
- boutique retail
Residential
- open plan living
- family rooms
- hallways
The widest part of our range and the most common specification. Wool constructions at medium density, with enough movement in the design to carry daily use without showing it.
High Traffic —
Constant use, with movement concentrated along one line.
Spaces where movement is continuous and concentrated along fixed paths.
Commercial
- hotel lobbies
- reception areas
- corridors
- retail entrances
- public circulation
Residential
- entryways
- stairs
- the living areas of busy households
High traffic is a different exercise. Density, fibre resilience and stain behaviour lead, and the design works within them. Much of our high traffic work is Axminster or made for the space, because the demands are specific enough that a standard construction is rarely the right answer.
Specification Guidance
If you are working to a brief, our consultants will review the space, the traffic conditions and the design intent, and put a recommendation in writing before you commit.